GENRE: Features

The festive season is on and boarding a train towards your destination seems almost impossible. Almost all the trains have lengthy waiting list and if anyone has not planned in advance, it could be a nightmare.Deepavali is around the corner, and celebrated in almost all north Indian places. This is also the season for the annual pilgrimage to Sabarimala. Trains to Delhi, Howrah, Patna etc., show long waiting lists. The situation seems painful to an extent that people are willing to pay hefty amounts to touts for a ticket confirmation. File photo of the passengers waiting to board the train.…

With his halo of white hair flying out behind him, India's famed "snake man" Rom Whitaker jogged on to the stage at Opus, a cafe on Palace Road, in the evening of 12th October. He held forth on King Cobras in front of a packed crowd for over an hour. Organized by the volunteer run, public science initiative Café Scientifique, the event called Radio Kings was the first in a monthly series aimed at dismantling the barriers between scientists and the public. Rom Whitaker at the Cafe Scientifique event. Pic: Janaki Lenin Based on the French café philosphique model, Café…

This past weekend, around 50 youngsters from diverse backgrounds including designers, entrepreneurs, web developers, photographers and farmers amongst others, brainstormed the ideas for sustainable living. This was the Bangalore edition of the Global Sustainability Jam.The event started on 2nd November, Friday evening, and ended on 4th, at the ThoughtWorks office, Koramangala. Seven teams proposed designs for sustainable solutions for any problem around the theme ‘heartbeats'.Sustainability Jam is conducted world-wide to propagate sustainability enabling the people to learn and find design based approaches to problems in any field - environment, financial or social. Participants slog over a weekend for 48 hours…

As millions of fans cheered for the Indian hockey team during the 2010 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup tournament, one particular fan in namma Bengaluru decided to show his support for the Indian team in a different way. Manoj Mahala, 27, felt that the team deserved more than the scant press coverage it was receiving during the tournament. To show his support to the team, Mahala started TheFansofHockey.com, a blog to provide news about the Indian hockey team. "The lack of consistent media coverage was something a lot of fans noticed and were discussing on Orkut (the once-popular social media website).…

She has traveled a long way since being found as a little black and white bundle in the middle of 100 Foot Road in Indiranagar. She could have easily been run over as the traffic was typical. She was alone - with no sign of a mum or other pups - just her - very afraid, and a dirty mess. I jumped out of my car and put her into a paper bag. She was little - less than 1kg.I called Amit to tell him that I was "bringing someone home for lunch" and he knew immediately that I was…

As urban gardeners, we have several simple organic options for ensuring adequate input of nutrients to the soil and plants. Panchagavya One of the most effective and common liquid nutrients for the garden is Panchagavya. It consists of five main ingredients from the cow (ghee, milk, curd, cow dung and cow urine) and serves not just as a growth promoting hormone and immunity booster but also as a pesticide. It is also a good source of micronutrients for plants and the soil. The usage is as simple as spraying a three percent solution on plants every 10-15 days. Seeds can…

We often tend to think of flowers as a thing of beauty, only to be admired. They look very pretty, whether cultivated carefully in the garden, or flowering in the wilderness...and often, they cast a beautiful scent around them, too. Right now, we have the Akasha Mallige trees in full bloom, a heady fragrance wafts through the air when we pass by them.But there are flowers which are good to eat, too! One such flower is the bloom of the banana (plantain) tree. Banana Flower. Pic: Deepa Mohan The banana plant produces a single inflorescence, also known as the banana…

If on a Sunday morning you want to spend your day with your dear ones away from the noisy city, do you have options other than Cubbon Park and Lalbagh?There are quite a few and not far from the city too.Shankaraa foundation on Kanakapura road is one such. It is an ideal get away if arts and culture excites you. Shankaraa foundation promotes intercultural interactions and provides platform and facilitates as a bridge between art and art lovers. It claims to be ‘a greenscape, dotted with timeless sculptures and an open- hearted space that promotes and propagates India's heritage.'There are…

For some, it's a nostalgia of their cities and for some others, it's just something new to try. Prerna Soni, a professional who shifted to Bangalore recently, says, "I discovered these dosa stalls providing a wide range of dosas. I like them since the taste and flavours remind me of my hometown." Variety of ingredients used in Dosas. Pic: Anisha Nair Nikhil Banerjee, a software engineer in Koramangala, says, "I love the taste of it. And (I like it) more so, because it is quick, fresh and healthy. It is pocket-friendly and filling at the same time. And most importantly,…

Merrily Tobin visited Jalvayu Vihar (JVV - where I have lived since retiring from the Indian Navy) for the first time in 1993. JVV was then just three years old. She recalls, "There were hardly any birds out here. The trees were just about picking up and the campus had a dry, barren look about it JVV site, circa 1987. Courtesy: Wg.Cdr.KJ Batt Jalvayu Vihar: Under Construction – 1989 – Barren Main Road & water tower. Pic: Wg.Cdr.KJ Batt In the next few years, JVV grew greener; the birds began to take notice and slowly moved in and so did…